NOTTING HILL MUSIC may not be a familiar name to the average music fan; but in today’s industry, it’s a name that bears a formidable presence. As music listeners, we tend to forget the long and arduous journey a songwriter must go through before the product of their hard work arrives in our lap, freshly packaged and ready for consumption. Often a misunderstood area of the ever-evolving industry we find ourselves in, music publishers are every bit as important as they were many years ago – not only do they play a vital role in the development of new talent and provide creative guidance to songwriters all over the world but they also protect the rights of artists and ensure everyone is paid fairly for their work.
Having navigated the shifting tides of the music industry and the onslaught of the digital age for the past 25 years, Notting Hill Music are now one the world’s leading independent music publishers. Founded in 1990 before a successful management buyout in 1993 saw them become The Notting Hill Music Group, the company led by Andy McQueen now boasts a catalogue of up to 30,000 copyrights recorded by everyone from Beyonce to Prince to Kanye West to Primal Scream to Ian Brown.
A company which prides itself on its tight-knit roster and fiercely collaborative ethos, Notting Hill now has up to 120 writers with employees spread from their home base in London to LA and Nashville. Naturally evolving with the changing market conditions of the time, 2017 has been yet another fruitful year for the company which has seen it grow once again in new exciting and innovative ways.
So following the news that they would be teaming up with Glasgow-based publishers 23rd Precinct for their highly anticipated industry event Resonate in November, an event which TTV are also excited to be involved in, we caught up with the company to hear about the important work they’ve been pursuing this year.
Constantly looking for ways to grow the business, this year’s most significant project has been the launch of NHMM, a new music label and management division which will deal prominently in the release of hit singles. With access to an extraordinary pool of talented songwriters and with streaming platforms holding more influence than ever, it’s already proving a fruitful move for the company. They said:
“Notting Hill Music have had a busy summer launching our new digital label NHMM with some huge hits right off the bat.”
“‘Top Down’ by Brown & Gray has just been added to The Highway Finds selection on the playlist of the Sirius network radio station The Highway. This is the biggest country station in the USA and is broadcast nationally to a huge audience. Kaci Brown has had a prolific career since she released her first album at 17 years old followed by a support tour for the Backstreet Boys; and this single sees her teaming up with British singer-songwriter Sam Gray. Sam Gray currently has over 62 million streams on Spotify across 5 singles releases with Hardwell, Julian Perretta, DJ Katch, Tobtok and Manovski.”
“We are really excited about the huge track ‘This Won’t Take Long’, which is the newest single from Notting Hill Music writer Leslie Satcher featuring a huge feature from the one and only Sheryl Crow.”
“Other notable releases from NHMM are ‘True Love’ by JUIC3BOX featuring Alice France and ‘Whiplash’ the new single from PHR33LNCH. Both of which have had great viewing and streaming success in the early days.”
“Purple Disco Machine’s ‘Devil In Me’ featuring Notting Hill Music writer Joe Killington is getting regular spins on national radio with a huge response to his vocal.”
“Notting Hill is happy to have a cut on Hardwell & Austin Mahone’s new track ‘Creatures Of The Night’ which topped the billboard dance charts as well as Offaiah’s ‘Run This Town’ featuring Sheneea hitting the number one spot in the Music Week Upfront dance charts.”
They add: “We have also just opened our own studio on site at Tileyard Studios for our writer to use so that is all keeping us very busy at Notting Hill Music!”
With so much going on throughout the year, it’s easy to see how the company has grown into one of the leading publishers in the world. They say: “Every one of our writers gets at least 5 opportunities a week in their inboxes. This can vary from song searched for artists both here and internationally, signed instrumentals looking for a top line melody with possible feature vocals and opportunities to be put into writing sessions with amazing writers from all over the world. Communication is also incredibly important! We like to keep an open line of communication between our writers and Notting Hill Music.”
Nurturing songwriting talent and sourcing new artists to work with is all part of the day to day life at Notting Hill. However, while they admit that the industry has changed “beyond all recognition” since they first started out thanks to changing methods of distribution and consumption, they still keep their ear to the ground when it comes to discovering the next big thing: “We do it the old fashioned way – going to loads of gigs, word of mouth, demo submissions but we also take advantage of YouTube and Soundcloud. Where getting lost in a YouTube hole can be counterproductive in most jobs for us it can lead us to stumbling upon some serious talent.”
With the market at risk of oversaturation thanks to an increase in new music platforms and technologies, is it harder for an emerging artist to be discovered by a large company like Notting Hill in today’s industry though? “There are two very different views to have on this. On the one hand with the social media revolution, artists/ musicians/ producers/ DJs are able to create a fan base worldwide using the multiple social media platforms accessible – be it streaming your gigs to around the world on Facebook and YouTube; interactions with fans and followers in any corner of the earth; and ultimately putting yourself on a global platform to be discovered. This however comes with its down sides and the alternate view on achieving success. This open door policy to opportunity has saturated the market. Which is why it is still so important to be a physical presence in your career – gigging, networking, meeting people.”
The Notting Hill monthly networking events have become a regular fixture on the industry calendar and have grown in stature each and every year. Attracting an impressive mix of A-list writers, producers, artists, publishers, labels, managers and more, they are now firmly recognised as one of the best industry events in the UK, giving budding music professionals the fantastic opportunity to mingle and learn from those in the business. They add: “The Notting Hill Music Networking event if for people in any area of the industry who wants to come along to a friendly event, hear some live music and network with fellow industry people. People from all areas and levels of the music industry decend on Tileyard Studios. Its main ethos is to give everyone an opportunity to come and further their career by making connections and talking to people.”
“It is growing in size and reputation and we are really happy 23rd Precinct are sponsoring the event and coming down to enjoy the night with us. We can’t wait to return the favour and come support Resonate Glasgow which is sure to be a spectacular event all round!”
Resonate Glasgow will host its first event on 16th November at the East End’s renowned Barras Art and Design Centre. Led by 23rd Precinct Music, TTV are delighted to partner with the organisers behind this new initiative for industry training, business development and innovation alongside Notting Hill Music, BPI, Ticket Tailor, Gorbals Sound, Cultural Enterprise Office, The SMIA and more. Get tickets here.
